Imran Khan Needs Money

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I am not sure but i smell something personal against Imran here! yeah it is always better to go on the streets and collect ``Bhatta`` like both MQM are doing in Khi, Hyd etc....or play the political gimmick of ``Qarz Utaro Mulak Sanwaro`` rather then to go directly to the public and explain the problem.

That ,Gold Smith billionaire example, having that much dollars he only managed to get one seat at the place where `` Patriotic Lotas are for sale``. amazing.

arjun_m : just a simple question, did you read the article?

If not, then please refrain from jumping the gun and turning this into another mud-slinging fest.

You and Romair should exchange emails and happily curse each other, spare us. Please.

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Looks like the writer is not a big fan of Imran Khan. There is nothing wrong in asking people for money to run a campaign. Actually it is the best way to generate finances for a campaign.

Why should Imran spend his own money. That will only encourage him to be corrupt to get back the money he spent. Also, collecting money from the public forces him to be more answerable to the people.

````It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.`` (Theodore Roosevelt)

I hope this article has an ulterior motive, i.e. to ensure that status quo politics is maintained in Pakistan. Or that the writer is a PPP or PML supporter, just trying to discredit PTI. Otherwise, this is one of the stupidest articles I have ever read on Chowk.

What is wrong with asking people to contribute money to a political party? It is done in every democratic country. Infact, it is the basic form of financing democratic parties. It should only be ensured that there is good audit of where the money goes and there are limits on the amounts of money.

Asking people honestly for money is better than robbing people of their money, which is what other parties do. Would PTI and Imran Khan be better, if they forced the money out of people in an MQM-like, ``bhatta`` tax. Or would they be better if they did not pay taxes like NS and Shahbaz and used that money. Or if they defaulted on loans from banks and used that money. Or if they got the money like the PPP/PML feudals through the gaddi nashin contributions of the poor people on their lands. Or by slave labor of their peasants.

Imran Khan is one member of a political party. He is not asking for money for himself. The amount of his own personal money and time he has put into the cancer hospital is probably more than 99.99999999999% of Pakistanis have put into any philanthrapic cause in Pakistan (including, I am sure, everyone on Chowk).

The thing I admire about Imran Khan the most, is that he is a doer and not a talker (like the rest of us). He doesn`t go for cheap popularity by becoming a talking, ``activist.`` He actually goes and does something practical. It is one thing to complain that the govt. does not build hospitals and become an activist doing so. It is another to actually go out and build one.

And, so far, his track record indicates that despite doing everything honestly, he has ultimately been successful at everything he put his mind to. That is a rare achievement for most Pakistanis in the public area.

But most of all, it is one thing to complain about Pakistani politics, and lack of leadership. It is another thing to jump into the muck and become a politician and try to solve the problem. And then to lose and lose and lose again, yet still keep going, despite having so many other options available in life. How many people have the guts to do so. Nearly, every politician I know, is in it to benefit his business/protect his lands/become famous etc.

My family and I contribute our time and money to PTI. That is how political parties are supposed to work. It is an indication that PTI is not made up of big time feudals and businessmen who consider politics a business deal.

The status quo politicians of Pakistan are sh//t scared of politicians like Imran Khan and the long term implications of parties like the PTI. I know this for a fact. They even banned his hospital`s ads from TV. He is the only anti-status quo politician who is honest enough and charismatic enough to eventually kick out the mullahs and the feudals etc. And they know it. If he were to join PPP or PML, they would nominate him as their Presidential candidate.

The first step in Pakistani politics is to get a charismatic leader to get his foot in the door of the NA. That has happened. PPP and PML(Q) put up a joint candidate against Imran Khan in Mianwali, even though both parties are enemies. They wanted to keep the status quo alive.

I think in ten years of so, PTI will be a major force in Pakistani politics. Since, it has kept away from bringing into its fold the feudal/mullah/corrupt business leaders, who currently dominate Pakistan. The status quo leaders have no party loyalty and are just in politics for themselves. The maulvi brigade has wiped out many of them. But I think the maulvi brigade will disappoint also. PPP didn`t do anything. PML didn`t do anything. Provincial parties/ethnic parties like the MQM, ANP and Baluchi parties didn`t do anything for Pakistan. The maulvis won`t do much. The Army (other than the Musharraf govt.) didn`t do much either. After that who else will be left? Only PTI - an honest middle to upper middle class party of urban professionals.

The biggest credibility factor in the PTI is that despite having all the chances to comprimise and gain a lot of seats, it has stuck to its principles. And if it needs money and time, I will (and have) definitely contribute.

The future of Pakistan lies in leaders like Imran Khan, Omer Asghar Khan (unfortunately marhoom), Zubeida Jalal types - self-made charismatic progressive well-eduacted leaders, who have spent a great deal of their lives as philanthrapists and aren`t afraid to take on the powerful status quo politicians. They are all doers and not talkers. The last thing us Pakistani should be doing is to bring down people like them. Since their are so few of them around.

Typical Pakistan Style dont you guys think? Imran Khan, Bhutto? Whoever it is.. same story.. But lets be realistic here, comparing the political campaigns of the US and Britan to that of Pakistan? Give me a break.. I`ll break you off a piece..

Aaria:
‘Typical Pakistan Style dont you guys think? Imran Khan, Bhutto? Whoever it is.. same story..’

Typical ABCD style. Don’t you folks have brains? If not, grow two. Then you can compare PTI with others and see the difference.

Ssdhillon and nawaid:
Good observations. The writer has a personal bias against PTI.
Like Romair says, PTI has stuck to it’s principles. the writer should comment on that. THAT should be her basis for judging PTI’s record. Since it wasn’t this was a total trash article and deserves trashing response.

Well, well well. Before I say why, let me just say out right that this article is total trash.

I would say that money isn’t the main reason for Imran Khan’s lack of success. I’d say that he’s not had any luck (with an establishment of fauji fuks etc., luck is hard). Money is the second reason however.

Before analyzing Imran Khan’s PTI, you have to wash your brain and accept that PTI is a PARTY- NOT an individual. Have you SEEN or spoken to OTHER PTI candidates? After washing your brain, do that. See who the other reps of PTI are.

Are they fauji fuks? Fuedals? Buearocratic leeches? Fundo fuks?

So you heard a rumor his wife is a multi-millionaire. What if she is? In 1998 Imran did a tour of America with Junoon. The cancer hospital requires about 2 million dollars per year to function. He managed to collect 500,000$ in a span of a few days traveling in a hectic tour of US. If his wife is bloated rich, he could easily make countless (I don’t have a calculator with me) times more money sitting home and letting the 100 million $ collect interest!! Why run around repeatedly listening to songs (even though it’s Junoon) day after day and hearing boring lectures from ABCD-mentality Pakistanis telling him how the country should really be run?!?

Let me take time to ask: Ayesha, are you stupid or something?

As for donating for political causes. Yes, people all over the democratic world contribute for political causes. Imran Khan has shown he’s serious about sticking it out (it’s not a simple one go ‘shot at Pakistani politics’). I like the PTI candidate from my constituency. I like most of the others. Yes, you will not have heard of them because spoilt brats like you probably hang around in mansions sipping tea and cuddling up to uncles and aunties and nephews and nieces of the leeches of the establishment of Pakistan. And then when someone pleads for donations on an anti-establishment agenda, you go all gun ho and start this character assisination.

Imran or PTI doesn’t have the onus on them. The people need to show that they want a change. Financially supporting them is one way. Elections in Pakistan like anywhere elseare about money. ads, getting transport to bring in voters etc. I’d say that PTI’s agenda is too ahead of it’s time. Though the establishment is against it, that is not an excuse. However, there are some who do support that agenda. I only gave ten bucks as my political contribution. But I’m proud to know that those may have gone to help him win that Mianwali seat.

best looking politician in the world = imran khan

give him money people, what`s wrong with you.... people paid loads of money to see him play cricket, why not give him some more to play politician and maybe, just maybe, he might turn out to be a good ruler.

New leadership will emerge in Pakistan sooner or later.

But in the mean time I still support BB, but if Imran Khan who is my third choice at the moment needs support for TI, he has it.

I will support anyone that makes Pakistan look good overseas AND has a track record of spending some time in community service in Pakistan.
Imran DID build a cancer hospital in Lahore for Pakistanis. For that
he has my admiration.

And if anyone is wondering, my first choice is not Musharraf or the military. It is Maulana Sattar Edhi but thank god that he avoids politics.

Pakistan is a country of iconoclasts. Our leaders are worthy of much criticism as this writing exemplifies. But sometimes I think that
Pakistanis overseas spend too much time being critical and don`t do enough for the people that they left behind.
That is a general observation and is not aimed at the author of this article. But I believe we should move beyond Imran`s wife and look
at Jemima Khan as one of our own now. Being rich is not a crime.

Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, health care and basic human needs in Pakistan should remain our focus. If Imran can help in any of these areas, he will have my humble contribution.

Ras

As the author of this article, I would just like to set the record straight. I am by no means affiliated with any of the political parties in Pakistan. Nor do I believe that the status quo should be maintained in Pakistan. But simultaneously, I also do not believe that Imran Khan is free from controversy or hypocrisy. Therefore, I feel, as a politician in the public eye, he is fair game for public criticism.

Although this is my first article on chowk, I have in the past, written equally critically of PPP/PML/MQM/ANP leaders in other publications. I find it rather scary in fact that a select number of readers assumed that because I was critical of Imran Khan, I must in some way be affiliated with PPP/PML. It is even more disturbing that one assumed that because I was critical of Imran Khan, I must be sipping tea with the elite in some mansion. Incidentally, I spend my free time volunteering at the Edhi Foundation. And I would encourage some of these people to read Mr. Abdul Sattar Edhi`s autobiography--especially the part where he talks about the arm-twisting tactics employed by Mr. Khan when Edhi refused to support him politically. It may be a bit of an eye-opener for some of you out there!

re: ayeshakhan #12

...good article...don`t let the ranting below get to you...these people are all prisoners of their own delusions...

Dear Ms Khan

I am not an Imran Khan fan, but asking for political contributions is a legitimate task. In fact the PTI was probably the only party to release the list of all contributors. While Imran Khan doesn`t seem to have established a proper structure in his party for fund raising. That si to be expected, he is fairly well known for a personality based Party rather then a well organised grass roots party.
On the other hand Imran does not represent the whole party. No matter how rich he may be, no person can fund a party out of their own pocket. Organising a single Jalsa is a costly affair and I think it can safely be said his political opponents massively outspent his party candidates.

scout:
`give him money people, what`s wrong with you.... `

i agree. you`re my hero. feel free to to max out your credit card at this site: http://www.insaf.org.pk/contribute.htm

ayeshakhan:

i will read about edhi`s claims. and will hold it against PTI if i do read about those claims. incidently, was this controversy with Eidhi over the bakray kee khaal collection? inform those of us who don`t have access to his book. i think there are many stupid things imran khan did. maybe he`s still doing them. initially supporting musharaf for one. magnifiying the ridiculous pathan code of conduct as something brilliant whereas it should be ridiculed before being torn up before being trashed.

glad to hear you volunteer at the edhi foundation. however, that in no way counters the accusation that you sip tea in mansions.

despite this, perhaps you would like to make a statement on the MAIN basis of our argument that PTI as a whole has shown it`s a serious contender by nominating educated and non-establishment candidates. comment on that. if it was power hungry, it could easily have selected incompetent retired fauji-fuks or other establishment folks with deep pockets.

and you did not comment on the money raising efforts of Imran. if he could just sit home and let the dough come in, why run around collecting funds for his hospital? do you think he really enjoys talking to abcd-mentality pakistanis giving lectures on how the country can be run more efficiently?

Romair

Strong word - ``stupidest articles``. I mean you have all the right to put your point across, but don`t you think your arguments were sufficient to make your point. I think you are being blind sided by your loyalty to Imran Khan.

First of all, I think there would be a number of people that are working selflessly for Pakistan, be it Edhi or the CPLC head. But that does not automatically qualify them for the PM`s seat. Or I am sure they have not thought about it also. The question is not man`s integrity but his plan to do something when he gets elected. The only mandate that I can remember from Imran`s campaign is corruption.

I mean I would like to give money to a political party that has something more original than that. Can somebody come with a slogan to redirect the defence expenditure to something more productive. To do something more than just reducing the electricity price and cover that by running a budget deficit (IMF says that Wapda would have a PKR 30 billion deficit). But I do agree mere slogan slinging is not sufficient it is important to see the person and his associates behind him. I mean with PML N wanting to bring back NS or the PPPP wanting to bring back BB would not find favor with me (as a mandate for election).

The problem with Imran Khan`s campaign, to me it seems, is that it woos the tribal type population who would want to keep their women folk without their right to vote (what percentage of women voted in NWFP).

I think the reason why Imran Khan lost in our constituency was that no candidate or its supporters ever visited us to discuss our views. But what is saw of MMA was that they ran a successful campaign getting bus loads of people straight from their masjids into the polling booth. Now that is serious efforts. Mere advertisements do not get people into the polling booth. Nor the fact that what you think are the issues and the ones important to the public. I mean after the previous two elections Imran Khan should understand that. What he stands for is not what the public is looking for.

asaleh1:

i agree on the point that PTI candidates though educated and all, lack charisma. people do not vote on mere good intentions of others. the ability to rally an audience, provide entertainment at gatherings and connecting them with the political aspirations is the skill PTI candidates lack. being a guest on BBC/ARY/PTV is no where near as vital as being in the midst of masses who want to be entertained as well as given some hope- especially in the absence of any crowd pulling agenda.

#12 by Ayesha

[Although this is my first article on chowk, I have in the past, written equally critically of PPP/PML/MQM/ANP leaders in other publications]

Ayesha Bibi, you may be good in doing criticism like many of us but please do generate some potential to face criticism and try to learn from it rather then explaining your free time activities of working with Edhi Foundation which has no relevence here.

It would be better if you try to understand the reasons of PTI`s not so good performance in Elections mentioned in various posts. In a country where as per Zubaida Jalal`s analysis we might reach 85% literacy(not education rate) rate in 2015, for people like Imran is not easy to make their way. If you watch PJ Mir`s show regulary , several time Imran admits that he is not an angel. I ll be grateful if you can give him benefit of doubt.

As a captain he was great, as a person he was a rich arrogant pakistani playboy. But lets give credit to the man he did build a cancer hospital , the only one of its kind in pakistan where specialized care for cancer is given under one roof . I f you think thats no big accomplishment try running around pakistan getting treatment for a cancer patient who requires for his cure or care a close coordination b/w oncologists, surgoens radiologists , nuclear medicine experts , pathologists.... the list goes on & on. Though Mr khans hospital in order to meet its own standards treats a dismally low number of patients but it is better than nothing .
I do not like Imran khan`s political juggling, his twisted & new found love of islam , but had i been there in Pakistan i would have voted for him unless Edhi was the oppostion candidate

Ras #10: Edhi and his wife would win an election anytime, if they just put their name on a ballot. That is how much support they have. Interestingly Edhi generally supports Musharraf.

The toughest task for any philanthrapist is to get into politics. Not to stay away from it. I wish Edhi would get into politics. If the future of a country is to be decided by politicians, then shouldn`t we want the best people to be in it.

It is much easier to be an honest philanthrapist, then to be an honest philanthrapist and politician. And to be successful, while being honest.

BB is evil. Her party (actually it is not her party, it belongs to all Pakistanis) is not evil. But she herself has robbed the country dry. Please follow Transparency International. Why in the world should a person, who has built her whole life on feudal power, and has then used that power to rob a country be its leader. Such people should be in jail. There are plenty of other more competent people in Pakistan. She is destroying her own party by not allowing any other leadership to emerge. PPP is now disintegrating, because her MNAs are fed up with her. Family-dominated parties, with no internal elections, only have a short life.

The status quo of Pakistani politics i.e. PPP and PML feudals are very scared of Imran Khan. It sounds silly right now, since PTI only has one seat. But it is true. Both PPP and PML join hands, even though they hate each other, when they fight PTI. The other group they are scared of are the mullahs. However, they can discredit the mullahs by pointing to their narrow-mindedness.

But there is no way for them to discredit the members of PTI, or Imran Khan. He is scruplously honest, simultaneoulsy Western and Islamic (reborn Muslim), has money, and the most international clout of anyone in Pakistan (perhaps in all of South Asia). And these feudals are dead scared of what will happen to them if PTI-type parties take over. PTI is PPP without the corrupt feudal executives. The intellectual urbanites of PPP, like Aitezaz Ahsan, have a lot more common with PTI than with PPP (where they will never be allowed to be the leader).

PTI has had a whole list of chances to gain strength. Imran Khan has been approached by every govt. from Zia to NS to BB to Musharraf to Qazi. Anyone would love to have him on their team. They would make him the second or third most powerful person in their party, i.e. President of Pakistan, or Chief Minister of Punjab etc. NS offered PTI around 38 seats in the first election. Musharraf wanted to push Imran Khan for top positions. Zia offered him a Senatorship. PTI refused everything (this is unheard of in Pakistani politics).

The biggest satisfaction I get as a member of this party is that I get to meet people like myself. Urban Pakistani who simultaneously admire the West and Islam and are fed up of the ignorant mullahs and the self-serving, ``liberal`` feudals.

There are no big names/powerful brokers in PTI other than Imran Khan (the head of Sindh PTI is an acconplished dentist - not a feudal, etc.). So they cannot win in the current system of thugs. But, once all the leaderships in Pakistan have been tried and discredited, who else will people go to? People have gone to the mullahs now. But the mullahs (most of whom do represent the lower class and are generally well-meaning - at least far more well meaning than the PML and PPP leaders) are too narrow-minded and do not have the vision. Army didn`t work, and ethnic parties are going down. At that point, PTI type parties will come in. Give it a year or two.

Hamayun Gauhar is a leading member of PTI. His views mirror mine:

``Why has this Islamic Republic become so un-Islamic? What`s going on? I`ll tell you what`s going on. We are caught in the middle of two great pantomimes. One pantomime is being played by the self-proclaimed cleric. It is the pantomime of obscurantism. The other is being played by fake liberals. This one is the pantomime of bigotry. Both are riven by dogma and ritual. What is entirely absent in both is the intent of God and the meaning of democracy. Absent are the people for whom and supposedly in whose name the pantomimes are being enacted. We worry about the enemies without. Let`s begin worrying about the enemies within, the two biggest being fake clerics and pseudo liberals who are spreading the virus of obscurantism and bigotry carried by the insects of dogmatism and ritualistic aping of alien, retrogressive, feudal systems and methods?`` (www.nation.com.pk)

P.S. Having a person like Jemima Khan as the first lady would be a great asset for Pakistan. She has converted to Islam (not an easy thing to switch religions), spends more time in Pakistan than us expatriates. And is a very down to earth and nice person. Even if she was Christian (or Jewish - she was actually Christian) it shouldn`t make any difference.

I agree with everything you write, almost, other than your support for BB. You have been out of Pakistan too long, or do not have the facts. Please join Transparency Int. and ask for info on BB. They sent out some interesting pamphlets when I joined. So much so, that BB forbade her party to attend the Transp. Int. meeting on corruption that was attended by all political parties in Pakistan. PPP is a good party. Bhuttos are going to ruin it.

My choice for Pakistani leadership:

1. Parties like PTI or Omer Asghar`s party.
2. PPP, if (very decisive if) it can get rid of its feudal leadership, specially Bhuttos, and comes under the leadership of urbanites like Aitezaz Ahsan etc. (in which case, it would become a ditto copy of what PTI is - with more votes).

nawaid and rozaiba:

I suggest you research your facts a little before staking your claims. One of Imran Khan`s key allies when he started with his political plans in the early-mid nineties was General Hameed Gul (ex-director general Inter Services Intelligence). He is the same person who Imran relied on to apply pressure on Edhi--read the book and find out about it at length. Rozaiba, with your opinion of the military, I`m sure you can`t be happy with that. Further, it is not true that all PTI candidates are anti-establishment. More recently, Mohsin Ali Khan, the leader of the PTI, NWFP, hails from an old frontier political family and is definitely not anti-establishment. I could go on but do not care to ramble on for paragraphs like some of you out there.

asaleh1:

Congratulations on summing up your comments in an articulate and balanced fashion and for countering romair.

rsaxena:

thanks.

Dear Ms Khan,

Welcome to chowk, rest assued this site is NOT a pro Imran site, Umair and a few are, but there are plenty who are not. You may have had articles published elsewhere, but this is the not so nice world of online journalism. It is in my opinion far more rewarding to get a quick response to your words and it gives you teh chance to explain your position as well.
As an article goes, I do understand and accept many of the points you brought up. I again say Imrans no angel...and I shudder to think how he would be as a Prime Minister, consider he has some people of ill repute in his party like you mentioned. But his party did attract over 300,000 votes in this election and 1 National and one provincial seat that to despite being seriously out gunned.
To my knowledge he disasscoiated from Hamid Gul quite sometime ago, and if he had goven his vote to the Jamali govt, he might have ended up a Minister! Refusing power is not a common trait in Pakistani politcians.

it is the nature of the game of politics to leave it`s players tarnished and exposed to harsh criticisms....but truthfully speaking, can pakistan do better than musharraf or imran khan? is there anyone else out there?
at least imran khan has a liberal background and has raised money, built
a hospital, done some good for Pakistan and it`s name. better than all those fundos gaining political ground isn`t it?

sure, everyone supports Edhi and for good reason, but he`s not an aspiring politician folks. why even bring him up in this discussion?

Roziaba,

Sorry to divert from the topic...momentarily..but gee I could have sworn you are a Pakistani lady...

If I`m right....I`m sure glad there actually are some Pakistani shernis, who have metaphorically ripped off their burkha & said ``fuks`` in public!
Way to go! Hon!....er, I sure hope Roziaba is a female nick!:)

But dont say it too often...not while scouty is around...last thing we need here is a ticked off scouty...you have NO idea how nasty she gets when she`s mad...saxena has the scars to prove it!:))

Romair,

{{The biggest satisfaction I get as a member of this party is that I get to meet people like myself. Urban Pakistani who simultaneously admire the West and Islam and are fed up of the ignorant mullahs and the self-serving, ``liberal`` feudals.}}

OK OK if I were a Pakistani ,maybe the smartest thing I should do is vote for Imran. You made your point loud & clear & , for a change, I accept your logic. He`s better than the rest of the ``fuks`` {good one-Roziaba:)}.

But ....but...did I hear this right?!
His party just won ONE seat?!! UNO?!
And youre OPTIMISTIC about the result!!!???!!!
...youre a PRINCE..guy!:))

Yeah yeah...I have ZILCH expertise in Pakistani politics..but but..for a guy whose party he supports won ONE seat ...& then optimistically predicts than in 10-20 yrs, Imran will be the shining star of Pakistani politics?!...Man.... you`ll even put Polyanna to shame!

Giveup IT, pal...youre true calling is Public Relations. Jeeze, I`ll bet if Imran Khan farts tomorrow, you could explain why the smell of his gas is better than the rest of the politicians` gas put together..

Jeete Raho, mere yaar:)!

ayeshakhan #21

imran has many faults. the sucking up to the stale pathan code, hamid gul as you mention, the whole fiasco of tilting toward the fundos, allowing mohsin ali khan to become a member of the party, the controversy with Eidhi you mention etc. no one is denying those things.

yet there can be no denying that this party is anti-establishment. in fact this `lack of connections` are the main reason many refuse to vote for the party as it cannot provide them with `post election` spoils like jobs in the government, or other lucrative things.

yes, please don`t ramble on. do some research instead before writing pieces.

Back in Bhutto`s days, Edhi once stood up as a candidate but he lost out cos he didn`t, or rather didn`t want to, spend a penny on his elections.

Money makes the world go round.

Umer M.

scouty,

#26

Aw, nice try--no cigar, sis...
You know & I know & the whole world knows that the MAIN reason you like Imran is cos he`s cute...

OK OK ..your points in #26 are well taken...
Lemme ask you; isnt it a shame that his party won only ONE seat? I`m SHOCKED!!

Did he lose because he had a shortage of money or because Pakistan has a shortage of smart people like you, Romair & Roziaba?!

Enquiring minds want to know...

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Peace to all,
Its good to know that most of here, Pakis or non, agree on one fact that PTI have a future. Some of us are having troubles with Imran as a person, but I am sure that they also believe in PTI`s ability and the power of their message. In the world of politics it is important to have a charisamtic leader too along with the strong staright forward message of progress and hope for the nation. I do agree with you people that Imran as a person might have some issues, but important thing to note is that those are more or less of personal nature. He did made a few mistakes, and who dont, good thing is that he realised them and got away from them. Yes he was a playboy, stubborn, Hamid Gul, Edhi incident, and a few more mistakes, but for one brief moment if we put all of them aside and just look at what PTI has to offer, I think most of would agree, that we can live with Imran at the top as long as it serves our purpose of promoting PTI agenda. Sooner or later, as PTI promised we can change our leadership if all the members wish for that. For the time being I think he is the right person to serve our purpose so lets just follow him and steer him to get to our destination, a Peaceful, Progressive, PAKISTAN.
Peace...

Can anyone out there tell me how or why Imi arm twisted Edhi? What`s going on here?

Thank you in advance.

Umer M.

Its funny how some things stick. They just refuse to unglue! Much as I admire Imran Khan as a cricketer (greatest ever to me!) I can`t help but notice how his causes, no matter how honest (lets ignore the core debate for a moment) have failed to rise above his personality. Uncanny.

Let`s face it, even his cancer hospital was less about the cause and more about him being what he was. And while Allah Wasaya Mianwaliwala would hardly know what Tehreek-e-Insaaf stands for or the `bhao` for insaaf today, he would certainly know that bat, and the handsome man holding it.

And much as Mr Khan makes an effort, no matter what his platform or line of argument, somehow it would all be linked to his jewish/wealth connections with Mr Goldsmith or to his earlier `playboy` leanings or whatever.

I say we end the arguments on this article as of today and just enjoy Imran Khan for the sheer entertainment value his unique situation throws up. Chuckle Chuckle.

Hozzzzattttt!!!!!!!!

ON dukhti rug

or

a primer on chokies

Ayesha:

A belated welcome to chowk…since you are still relatively new here perhaps i can share some observations…most interactors here are very reasonable, normal, sane, sensible men and women…even when they masquerade as the other gender…but then i suppose in the anonymity of the cyber world it is permissible.

but


..when you hang around here often you will also discover their dukhti rugs…their sore or tender points…and with this discovery you will understand when to ignore, dismiss or answer them…you will also discover that some use several nicks and if you are sharp you will discover there is one nick used by more than one person…

to illustrate:

---arjum, jay thakray etc. are normal law abiding tax payers and model citizens except when it come to certain trigger words beginning with P or M

---urstruly, hydra sr. and hydra jr. are normal model citizens, father, lover, husband except when it comes to trigger words beginning with H or I

---romair is the normal law abiding entrepreneur parachuted out of the air force and landed on the west coast…rumoured to have a sense of humour as well…his trigger words change yearly…first it was the K word, then it became the PM, changing into IK and lately he has been observed pontificating on I too…

---asif naqshbandi…he is big on the B word…no not beyzameer but Barelvi

---harimau come out guns blaring on south Indian caste issues and everytime another interactor soysauce says something…anything…on any subject

---shankar…he would mostly come out to give a retort to Romair…

---ras and saxena…they just come out on every subject and throw a one liner

---tahmed he is the firefighter who keeps fighting the fire long after it has been extinguished

---hamidm and sameerjb...they are two sides of the same coin...you got to read them between the lines...

---temporal…he will crawl out when an article is really atrocious…as in bad formatting, language or logic use…

hope you will find this of some help

lve,

t

ps: as far as this IK is concerned, did he have hair transplant two years back?…re: edhi, gul etc…did you know edhi fought one election in late 60’s or early 70’s form the lea market area of Karachi and lost his deposit?…and gul and IK had a fall out because?…that would be interesting story to reveal…the best thing someone who knows gul personally told me… he is a visionary who is well informed about the past 5000 years and would speculate on the coming 5000 but knows nothing about today!

pps: apologise for this long post...obviously have nothing better to do than wait for a mail from someone...

Further, Edhi not being in politics is a good thing. Like Aamir said, ``nice`` people fail miserably in politics.

Short and sweet. A woman enraged is appetizing at times. Ayesha, I`ll be in the UK in Jan. Let`s do dinner and a movie.

Rozaiba dost, very harsh. Ladies still go gaga over ``Immy``, hate to be reminded that he found a luscious young foreign thang. Scout is classic case of My Immy Syndrome.

Khatoon, Zakkk #15 has already pointed out legitimacy of asking for political contributions. Learn to curtail your comments to relevant facts and take criticism accordingly.

.........i can understand them checking urstruly`s shoes and ghalibzaman`s underwear for explosives - they probably look like the brothers running around the hills of tora bora with sheets on their heads and singing off-key arabic ayahs ............but what about me? ......... after years of drinking the white man`s whiskey and eating prosciuto on melon and wearing penny loafers, i thought i was at least as white as michael jackson .........so i was really surprised when the immigration man waved through my partner, bubba from alabama with his red neck and size twenty shoes, and insisted on asking me who i had met with in japan ........ he was inoffensive and quite polite, but as an american citizen and baseball lover i was a little pi*#ed off...... i wanted to say, `` i am not one of them, as a matter of fact i am the president of ``muslims united against islam`` and am seriously thinking of changing my name to leroy jackson and applying for membership at augusta``.......of course, i didn`t say anything except, ``thank you and have a nice day``, but my ears did turn a little red, sorry, purple .................

......... how did he mistake me for one of them?...... i use toilet paper and deodrant, i don`t share my tent with a camel or a goat, i don`t think blowing yourself up on sabbath is a lot of fun, i get goose bumps when i hear the star spangled banner at the baseball game, i think that the canadians are a bunch of whimps and that we should annex ontario and bc, i think we should take over saudi arabia and create a vatican like mecca and turn it over to prince hassan, i love hot dogs with lots of mustard, i have perfected a recipe for thanksgiving turkey that should be a national secret, i even like country western music and lone star beer ................ so, for christ`s sake what is it? ....... how could they confuse me with idiots who are mad at world because santa claus never came to their house when they were kids ? ..........

............ and what about my children who sound and act like white people and think we should belong to a country club because all white people do - can they end up in an internment camp instead of the country club? ............. if they do, it is all mrs hamidm`s fault - she is the one who signed them up for sunday school and made me drive them there ......... as god is my witness, i tried to protect them by picking them up before zuhr prayers and feeding them unhalal big macs to ward off jinns and malaik ........ i am sure they will be okay as long as they stay away from strangers who call each other sisters and brothers ..........

............ but what about me? ........i know what it is ! ........i will start drinking bourban instead of scotch ........ yup, that ought to do it !............. real americans drink that ... that stuff from kentucky!

FJ....I will be in London in January also...why dont you meet me also. I am from Peshawar would love to meet someone like you for dinner.

hamidm2...the answer is simple...no matter how hard you try to assimilate you will always be one of ``them``. Although..you should try eating pigs feet as the last resort...if that doesnt work then take the next flight to Kandahar - a bearded guy on a Honda 125cc will be waiting for you.

#36 hamidm2:

HaaN, Kaalia teraa kyaa banay gaa?
Now that is the `kaun banaygaa karore-phuttee`` question. Congratulations on the epiphany. Hallelujah!

Yusufkhan:
He IS the genuine Baghlol on the net. He is the nightmare which gives goosebumps to every nihilist and anarchist in the world. Only the relevant agencies cannot detect & pick-up because he can pirruete his way through the turnstiles as De-Mock-rat.

There are certain khusras of between-the-lines and heejraas of his dots.coms who try to ingratiate and endear themselves to him because of the melon-merlot disappearing act. Poor adolescents in aged bodies.

Ghalib hoodwinked his way out of the clutches of the goraa by pleading being an adhaa-muslamaan. The perrenial definition of a `moderate`....Sharaab peetaa hooN sooer naheeN khaata. But the Brittos were on home-soil and had spent a lifetime with the slaves. The Amreekans have no desire to learn . Why should they? when their president need not be embarrassed to say that Canada`s PM is Putin.

Oye kaliyaas, ubb tumhaara kyaa banaigaa?

``Lo voh bhee keh rahay hain kay bey nang O naam hai
Yeh jaantaa ugar, tO jalaataa naa ghur ko meiN.``

Iss qadar pyar se na dekh `usay`
phir `kamina` khaRa na ho jaay

RE: #36 by hamidm2 wrote:
``.........i can understand them checking urstruly`s shoes and ghalibzaman`s underwear for explosives - they probably look like the brothers running around the hills of tora bora with sheets on their heads and singing off-key arabic ayahs ............but what about me? ......... after years of drinking the white man`s whiskey and eating prosciuto on melon and wearing penny loafers, i thought i was at least as white as michael jackson .........so i was really surprised when the immigration man waved through my partner, bubba from alabama with his red neck and size twenty shoes, and insisted on asking me who i had met with in japan .. ``

We should move this discussion back to the Beynaam Badshah article because that is where it really belongs.
We are already very familiar with GhalibZaman and are trying to figure out where YusuKhan is coming from at the moment.
But once again hamidm (original or #2?) has hit the nail on the head.

Where do those who always opposed the bearded boys stand in America today? Merlot in hand or Cabernet if you will, where do some of us
hybrids fit in? The thought of consuming sweet lassi made by heejras on old monkey road in Karachi is no longer appealing. But will we be forced to make a choice in the near future?

Ras

the Pitrus of Chowk -- hamidm miaN --

what can we do --

merey junooN ney mujh ko kaheeN bhi nu dee panaah/maatoob-e buut hoN kushta-e purwardigaar hooN --

thanks to that -- True Enemy of Islam -- osama bin laden (CBUH)

ghalib, yusuf

.......... this is a serious question .....wouldn`t it be better if muslims of all shades and persuasions were accepted as being muslims without trying to excommunicate or marginalize people who don`t meet the strict criteria set by the ultra orthodox? ........ look at the jews - the reform/liberal jews are the ones who are the real backbone of judaism ...... the orthodox jews cause a lot of trouble and contribute very little .......... same is the case with christianity and hindooism - guys like jerry falwell and modi are an embarrasment to the mainstream .........

............... so how about giving us ``moderate`` muslims a chance - it might be better for islam ...... and don`t worry - a lot of these drinking stories are exaggerated to make a point ...........

hamidm #43:

posted this sometime back on another board...the moderate or whatever you choose to call muslims have to stand up and be counted...if they don`t...others will decide their fate...perhaps to their dismay...

__________________________________

NO LOGO MUSLIMS


I

Becoming a muslim is simple. Defining one is impossible.

There are self-serving definitions floated by Richard Perle and his handlers, or Modi, Sharon and their handlers…

And to muddle the poodle further we have no dearth of muslims who throw aspersions on other muslims. For Asif I may be not a muslim. For me Sameer may not be one. Over a billion muslims: over half a billion definitions of a muslim.

II

Tahmed you do not like the nomenclature moderate. Hamidm has his usual gripes. Sameer has an all-sweeping broom when it concerns islam. Asif has his ‘rightful’ and ‘proper’ take. Everyone has their copy-righted perch. And of course everyone would like to think they are the embodiment of the moderate, middle of the line, no-frill no-logo muslim

III

These days everyone, from well-wishers to enemies is joining the chorus.

“All right, so you are not the violent type. You cannot differentiate between a pistol and a gun. TNT and cocaine are both white powders to you. You grimace if you kill a fly. You are against all forms of terrorism. You do not agree with those who speak on your behalf. You say the orthodox fanatics have hijacked your religion”

and…

“Why don’t you speak up? Stand and be counted?”

IV

Most no-logo muslims keep to the silent middle ground, lead their lives simply, do what good they can, mind their own business, and are loathe to get involved.

This lethargy is their undoing.

We can learn from history. A majority of people in most countries and societies form the largest bloc --- that of the ever-present and aptly named the silent majority.

Under normal conditions they carry on their lives with minimal fuss. Only in exceptional and critical times in their nation or culture’s history do they abandon their hereditary lethargy and assume an active stance with mixed results.

Mixed results? Yes, here in the US the Silent Majority stepped in to stop the unilateral flow of body bags from Vietnam. Over in Gujrat they latched onto the devil’s tail and went on a barbeque spree that shook India. And the world.

V

Post September 11, Islam/Muslim bashing has reached a global crescendo. The no logo muslims have no choice now. They have to abandon their lethargy and be more pro-active. They have to stand up and discard the mantle of lethargy.

If they fail to do it themselves it will be done for them. That alternative may not be pleasant.

No-logo temporal

#43 hamidm2

``Qafas mein mujhh sey roodaad e chmn kehtay na dr Hmdm(2)
giree hay jiss pey kl bijlee, voh meraa aashyaaN kyoon ho?``

I know since the day you were born on CHOWK. O sayyen , O mulaamtee soofees you are right there in the pantheon of those mulaamtee soofees like Quaid-e-Azam, rehmut-allah illayh. They never advertised their sajdaas to earn brownie-points with the fundos and at the same time never appeared i public with a glass in hand to convince the slaves in suit-& -ties.

With ALL our faults and shortcomings we are all simply MUSLIMS. Never ever worry what anyone considers us across the apparently great divine-divide.

``Aur kuchh din yeh dastoor e maikhaana hai, tishnaa kamee key yeh din guzar jaayeNgey
mairay saquee ko nazraiN uthhanay tO dO, jitnay khaalee hain subb jaam bhrr jaaeNgey``

wassalaam.

[I know since the day you were born on CHOWK. O sayyen , O mulaamtee soofees you are right there in the pantheon of those mulaamtee soofees like Quaid-e-Azam, rehmut-allah illayh. They never advertised their sajdaas to earn brownie-points with the fundos and at the same time never appeared i public with a glass in hand to convince the slaves in suit-& -ties.]

Sir,
Can you translate it in English ?

yusufkhan, pleasure will be mine. How do we get in touch? My visit is dec 29th - Jan 2nd.

Fahim

#25 by shankar on December 21, 2002 11:57pm PT
+++++++
If I`m right....I`m sure glad there actually are some Pakistani shernis, who have metaphorically ripped off their burkha & said ``fuks`` in public!
Way to go! Hon!..
++++
hmmm.... what exactly are you cheering??!!

My understanding of Pakistani politics is little. But is there any collective long term vision within pakistan as to how it should progress.. Last time I heard about some thing like this was Bhutto with his thousand year war.

Seriously. In India the current economic acctivity is lead by the IT industry, The pharma industry,to some extent the consumer goods Industry and may be few heavy industries like petrochemical Industry.

However before the private sector could exploit the opportunites presented before it Nehru had a vision(Much maligned though now a days) he laid the foundation of the Large industries in all sectors and harped much on self reliance. By late sixtes with imported soviet technology India was a asian leader in quite a few industries notably steel etc.

however a failure to adapt and nehrus death and subsequent political trumoil with Indra gandhi coming to power and the oppositon by the other older leaders and subsequent disastrous growth of personality politics because of Indra Gandhi`s isolation just about pushed the economic and growth agenda to pure politics. This led to a nearly 2 decade of downturn in all feilds. Then came the balance of payments cricis and Manmohan Singh and his liberalisation.

This gave rise to increased contact with the MNC`s as well as investments in new industirees till then probhited both by indian entrepruners as well as MNC`s. However in my opinoin this would not have benifited India had it not been the avaialbity of Skilled Manpower available in the much Public sector Bemoths as well as Indians abroad and those churned out by the IIT`s etc.


For Instance most of the key personall in the Private Pharma companies (a very profitable Industry for India) were from the govt sector IDPL in Hydeabad. When Texas Instruments became the first MNC in software to set up officein bangalore in 1986 they recruited heavily from the IIT`s , when Motorola set up office in 1996 they recruited heavily from the public sector BEL (which has a semiconductor fab and and was a major defence contractor for electronics). Onther other hand companies such As HCL/NIIT , Infosys were driven by returning Indians started in early and mid 80s and mind you the going was not easy for them HCL wanted to import computers but had to settle for importing texas instument calculators. Infosys had to wait one and half year to get a telephone. While wipro had to do the unglamarous job of selling computers and networking before it could make its software unit viable which was initially populated by BSC and Bcom graduates with some training in IT. The present wealth and hope in India is because the middle class Indians have rallied around these industries and have benfiited directly or indirectly by them at least in hope of a better future.


My point is before all this happened there was a vision of Development by Nehru and a plan that he had which he put in action. I do not have much knowdlege of what happened in Pakistan but it looks like kashmir happend and put the Military firmly in seat and subsequently that seems the only vision that is there.. Has it been worth it in rertospect for both pakistanis as well as kashmiris?

I meet many pakistanis here they crib about the political stability as well as govt interference and may be that might be true but how many are willing to go back and set up business there?? Not many I guess.

We have many on these boards on both sides of the divide (the only line of defintion is for Islam and against islam and those sitting on the line ie the moderates) Have you considered that sponsering the education of 5 pakistanis back home will cost less than the cost of sherry(for those who drink) and less than the cost of insurance for your car.
Shouldnt you be discussing more of that instead of what is discussed here? Culture also encompasses economy.

But for the economy we too have the same type of politicans in India, The Vajpayees, modis, laloo`s , jayalalitha, sonia, etc have very little development agenda. It seems to me that the people of India(atleast a section of us)have long abandoned any expectation of help from the political elite and have taken up task for themselves.

So what exactly is your collective Vision??

hamidm2...I totally agree with what you suggested i.e.
>>.....wouldn`t it be better if muslims of all shades and persuasions were >>accepted as being muslims without trying to excommunicate or >>marginalize people who don`t meet the strict criteria set by the ultra >>orthodox?
I think a lot of Islam is the way one interprets it which maybe vastly different than for example Moududi`s tafseer...doesnt mean one is right or one is wrong. At the end of the day each of us will be judged by our deeds and by the clarity of our conciense.

FJ..so sorry that you are only going to the great city of London for a few days. From your previous email I was under the impression that you would be in London the first week in Jan? If we cannot hookup in London maybe we can meet in Florida instead...where its nice and warm

#50 AmericanExpress:

Please do not exceed the credit limits.

#
Hi Ayesha,

I went through your article, would like to mention here that positive criticism should have been much better. Article seems tilds more towards the personal criticism, rather then giving your opinion and advise what can be acheived in future by Imran as a politican and for his political career.

Most of the people who have not supported any political parties before are coming up and supporting Imran, reason being that Imran gives HOPE to the people that our overall system is going to get better, Inshallah. Though the things in Pakistan may not look bright now, future uncertain, but there is always a hope.

One of the dreamers, dream would be to attain politican system without corruption. Hopefully Imran can acheive this immpossible to be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


#51 by GhalibZaman on December 23, 2002 6:59pm PT
#50 AmericanExpress:

Please do not exceed the credit limits



-------------------------------------------
AAh Haan!

I know i should leave some for you


My nick is NOT from the Credit card .Chk my Profile for answer

Ali87
#48

{{hmmm.... what exactly are you cheering??!!}}

Oh..nothing earth-shattering, sir:)

I`m just paying tribute to the educated women of Pakistan; who have written some of the most thought provoking & interesting articles AND replies on Chowk...Certainly more ``level-headed``, intelligent & incisive than most of their male counterparts.

If by some miracle, if these Pakistani women were given REAL power in Pakistan & their male counterparts SHUT THEIR TRAPS & behaved like REAL gentlemen...not just Pakistan; but the ENTIRE S.Asia would be a better place to live in.

Just so that people dont accuse us from drifting from the topic...
Yo! Pakis! If you cant elect women to REAL power...( & BB did NOT have REAL power, in my er ``unexpert`` opinion; nor do the ``token`` women of Mushy`s parliament)....give money to Imran...OK?! How & why the heck should he invest Jewish money in Pakistani politics, hahn?!

Yaar, its a sad commentary on your country that the most promising potential leader of Pakistan got only ONE seat!! Just goes to show that majority of Pakistanis dont believe in blindly idolising good-looking guys....(though, it seems, many of them like the bearded fuks in the MMA!!)..

Only Polyanna Romair has the skill to spin this into something positive. Any sane person would have been very depressed after the party he supported got the crap kicked out of it! ...but not Romair...he`s ENERGISED!!:))

Yeah yeah...Nostradamus Romair thinks his ``analysis`` of the future will always come true..I mean, the thing he looooves to do more than anything else is to proclaim to all us pessimisstic dimwits----I TOLD YOU SO!!!

BTW, Ali-saheb, I agree with your post...infact, I learnt a lot from it--thanks!

Dear Ms Khan,

I am curious to know, have you ever contributed to any political party in Pakistan before or have you ever voted?

Zakk #56

I thought it was quite obvious from my article that I do not believe in contributions to political parties--I would rather give the money to charitable organizations. And so to answer your question, no I have never contributed to political parties, but yes, I have exercised my right to vote, although I do not see how it is relevant to anything.

12 head,

First of all, dickheads like you are the classic reason why men should SHUT THEIR TRAPS!

Secondly, only a frustrated bhangi like you comes to Chowk with alternate nicks. For all my faults, I havent sunk to that level!

Dear Ms Khan
This article may be of interest?
http://newsline.com.pk/newsbeatdec5.htm
On another note are you advocating the use of public money to fund political parties?

The comments have gotten off the rails and heading nowhere. Lets get back to the Great Khan and his big Ego problem, sorry, his political problem. In the dirty waters of Paki politics, even a moron does know his worth after a while, unless he or she has Angles as voters and Brass monkeys as backers. So ideally he should have struck to his charity work. Now one way out of this dilemma is for Payjama,sorry Jemima Khan to set up an endowment trust with once in a life time mega donation to run the hospital from its income, so that the Great Khan is free to muck around in the dirty waters of Paki politics full time. And you never know, some Major/Lt. Col level circle of friends in some Garrison club are already watching his ARY appearances with fond approval...

Zakkk #61

Answer to your question: Certainly not! Thanks for posting the site to the other article. Although it did not come as a surprise to me, it may to some of the others.

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

General question to alll Chowk walla`s reading this article who may have some internal knowledge about the working of the main Pakistani political parties during the recent elections.
It is my understanding that most parties, charged a fairly large sum from people applying for the party ticket.
My question is simple, whatever happened to that large amount of money?

The role of money is an achilles heel in the politics of USA and India. To some extent Japan and Italy. Pakistanis will be well advised to limit the amounts of money private entities can contribute to political parties. Otherwise the politicians become agents for corporate interests.

Ref 65 by Zakkk: the PTI did not ask their candidates for any contributions for the party ticket, unlike other parties. Most candidates being new to politics and from the middle class, did not have the money to do so anyway.

12 head,

oops I got a little carried away there...sorry:(!

Actually, I agreed with your post #58..for once!
Allah be praised!

I just got a teeny bit peed off when you refered to me as ``shrink Lucy``.
I dont have the computer skills or the indecency to come to Chowk with multiple nicks...

i think imran khan has some nerve asking people to donate money to any of his projects political or otherwise. have you seen to the people that end up at shaukat khanum? free treatment: my foot! i have seen so many people turned away to govt. hopitals from the place just because they couldnt afford the investigations let alone the actual treatment. shame on you khan sahab. you have definitely fallen from an icon to a typical selfish politician, at least in my eyes. just hope you get to read this.

Pathetic, Absolutley pathetic!!! Read your article at Counterpunch, google-searched your name, came across this absolute piece of droll (Thankyou very much, you saved me the trouble of buying your book now)...

Four years on, you feel really stupid now, don`t you? Imran Khan is still here and so is his hospital. Pakistan`s cricket team has gone from a source of pride to one of ignominy!!! You are just another one of those Pakistani girls who never came to terms with the fact that Imran Khan married a white woman... so pathetic, such a personal attack, so absolutely pathetic....

Well, he is divorced now, he never married that woman for her money. He said that when he married her and nobody in Pakistan believed him. His foreign policy predictions have proven to be right with Pakistan at the centre of the Jihadi blow-back and this is just the beginning. And Musharraf has proven to be an American boot-licking, blood-sucking dictator just like Imran Khan said he will be. I for one will take Imran Khan`s antiquated Pathan code anytime over such shamelessly spinelss disgraceful leaders.

No hon, run along.... You, for one are not even good enough to tie the shoe-laces of somebody like Imran Khan. Time will be the best judge for this man... He has already done enough, whether he succeeds in his political aims is immaterial... My prediction is that when this man will pass away, not only Pakistan but the whole of the world will mourn him as the greatest Pakistani ever since Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Why is it that you Imran Khan-lovers are so averse to hearing the slightest criticism of the guy? Sure he`s done a couple of really great things but he`s also done some pretty stupid things! BTW, sorry to burst your bubble, but all public figures are open to critcism. And honestly, comparing him to Jinnah is absurd!

By the way muhd15, I don`t think you understood the article--the writer never said that Imran Khan would disappear or that the hospital would disappear so why should she feel stupid about that?? She never even said that he married Jem for the money--all she said is that when she has all that money, why is he asking others to financially support him politically--one may or may not agree with her, but it`s certainly open to question. And by the way, if Imran is divorced and Jem is frolicking with Hugh, then is he the one who should feel stupid or the others?

I also read Ayesha`s article on Counter Punch and thought it was pretty good and did buy her book, which is also pretty good (if it`s any consolation to you--it does not mention IK!). I doubt she would care if you bought it or not--it`s got good reviews in plenty of place already, including chowk!

You know that's the problem with our political parties. We always criticze them for being the agents of Agencies but whatelse do you expect from them? It's the agencies which support most of the political parties and that's why our political parties are failure.

How do you expect political parties to generate funds? Nobody works for free. And I totally agree with Imran khan about the funding thing. Oh between am totally against that "Batta" (people in Karachi knows what I am talking about).

Anyway, Imran Khan is the only hope for sane leadership.